RUNGE – A group of masked men carrying shotguns and handguns robbed a game room in Runge and several patrons that were inside the game room at the time of the robbery.

According to information from the Karnes County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched Friday night, Feb. 7, to the game room at 402 Highway 72 in Runge after receiving a call at 9:46 p.m.

The caller said four to six men wearing masks entered the game room with shotguns and handguns. The men tried to break into the slot machines and damaged three machines without getting the money inside. They then took the key from the game room manager and opened machines taking coins from inside the machines.

Karnes County Sheriff Dwayne Villanueva said the amount of money stolen remains unclear, but the men also took $150 in cash from the game room employees, wallets, watches, cell phones and purses from customers inside the game room at the time of the robbery.

The masks the men were wearing were similar to the brightly colored masks that professional wrestlers in Mexico are known to wear, Villanueva noted.

No one was injured during the robbery as the management and customers cooperated with the masked robbers.

Villanueva said some individuals have been identified as possibly being involved in the robbery, but at this time no arrests have been made in the case. The incident remains under investigation.

A similar incident happened at a game room in Kenedy about a month ago, but Kenedy Police Chief Duane DuBose said he isn’t sure the two robberies were carried out by the same individuals. DuBose described the masks used in the Kenedy holdup as being ordinary ski masks. There were three men allegedly involved in the Kenedy robbery and the perpetrators in this incident left with only a purse and cell phone.

Sheriff Villanueva said his department is continuing to investigate to see if there is a connection between the two robberies. He is encouraging anyone with information about the Runge robbery to call the sheriff’s office at 780-3931 or the Karnes County Crime Stoppers 24 Hour Tip Line at 830-780-INFO (830-780-4636). The identity of the person phoning in the information will remain strictly anonymous.